LTBA NEWS

Category: Paulick Report

Equine insurance experts answer your questions about insuring Thoroughbreds for the breeding and auction realms. Email us at info@paulickreport. com if you have a question for an insurer.

QUESTION: When should I consider increasing or decreasing the insured value of my horse, and how do I do it?

BRYCE BURTON: There are various reasons that a policyholder would want to amend the insured value of their horse, which is done in order to accurately cover the horse for its true value.

For a racer, the owner would want to increase the value if the horse has won a race that inherently increases the value of that horse, or even if the owner has received an offer for the horse, which is higher than what that owner currently has the horse insured for. The same goes for decreasing the value of an insured horse, which would normally be done if the horse is dropping in class, for instance, from an allowance race into the claiming ranks.

With respect to broodmares and foals, an event within the family could spark the need for an increase. For example, if the first foal out of an insured mare were to win a big stakes race, it may be worth looking into increasing both her insured value and potentially any of her promising foals.

Depending on the size of the increase, either a veterinary certificate or a declaration of health, which can be completed by the owner, will need to be completed on the horse. Once approved by the company, the increase or decrease in value will be calculated on a pro-rata basis. This means that you will only be charged for your time on risk for the increase. So, if the increase is put into effect six months into the policy period, you will only pay for that increase for the remaining six months.

QUESTION: Can the Full Mortality Rates provided by the company be changed in the middle of a policy-term?

BRYCE BURTON: Yes. If the insured horse’s use is changed in the middle of the policy period, the rate will be changed respectively. The most common example of this that we see is when a horse is retired from racing. If it’s a filly and she is taken off the track to be bred, we would decrease her Full Mortality Rate mid-policy term and the insured would receive a return premium, or credit, for the remaining time on risk. The same would be true if a gelding were retired from racing and re-trained for another discipline.

Bryce Burton is a property and liability specialist for Muirfield Insurance. He is from Frankfort, Ky., where he grew up an avid race fan. His Thoroughbred racing fandom combined with a collegiate internship in the insurance industry, culminated in a start in the equine insurance field. Bryce has been with Muirfield Insurance since 2014, following his graduation from Transylvania University in Lexington

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In June, 159 horses were seized from Scarlet’s Legacy Equine Rescue in Camp County, Texas. A 501(c)(3), the organization, based on 45 acres, was managed by Deanna Tierney. Local media covered the seizure extensively, and Horse Nation reported on how horse lovers can help horses in need, like those who were taken from Scarlet’s Legacy, and how to prevent similar future situations. Currently, the horses in Safe Haven’s care need feed, hay and hay bags; their Amazon Smile wishlist includes other items the organization needs.

To prevent future cases like this one, Horse Nation reports that Jessica Johnson, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Animal Crimes Director, encourages people who are considering working with or adopting from a rescue visit the organization in person if the entity is local.

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Jockey Randy Romero, elected to racing’s Hall of Fame in 2010, said last weekend he is hospice care but is at home in Lafayette, La., where a brother is staying with him and helping with his care.

“I’m very sick but I haven’t given up,” he said by phone. Romero, 62, said doctors told him he is not strong enough to undergo the surgery necessary to remove tumors that were discovered in 2015. He said his pain is being managed and hospice is allowing him to undergo dialysis three times weekly at a facility close to his home, a procedure he has done for some 15 years.

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As much as $17.5 million per year could be used to support Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse purses in Texas as a result of legislation signed into law last weekend by Gov. Greg Abbott.

House Bill 2463 diverts sales taxes on horse feed, tack and other horse-related products and services from the state’s general fund to an escrow account established by the Texas Racing Commission and capped at $25 million annually. No more than 70% of the funds in the escrow account may go toward purses. If the escrow account reaches $25 million, that would be an additional $17.5 million in purse money annually, virtually doubling the current amount, based on an economic study conducted by TXP Inc. consultants.

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This horse is not cast, but is getting up after lying down, demonstrating the way horses need to push their front legs out to get their balance when rising.

Horsemen probably don’t comprehend how big and heavy a horse actually is until it gets cast against or under something and they have to get it unstuck. One futile tug on the mane of a cast horse and the person quickly will realize he or she needs assistance.

“The first thing I would say is to get some help,” said Dr. Sally DeNotta, extension specialist and assistant professor of large animal internal medicine at the University of Florida. “You don’t want to be in the stall with a cast horse alone because it’s dangerous and they’re big.”

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Kevin Atwood has always liked speed. His boots were in stirrups more often than on the ground while he was growing up in Hopkinsville, Ky., and he carried on that tradition with barrel racing through adulthood.

In 2008, however, Atwood had to admit he needed to slow down. Then 46, he started searching for another outlet in which he could enjoy both horses and speed. Turning to Thoroughbred racing, Atwood contacted his childhood friend, fellow Hopkinsville native trainer Larry Jones. His first horse, named One Pretty Lady, won a couple races and earned more than double her purchase price, and Atwood was hooked.

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In the hubbub of the Kentucky Derby disqualification drama, replays and still images have been analyzed and watched thousands of times as viewers try to get a handle on Maximum Security’s path of travel and the resulting domino effect. One thing people probably weren’t looking at closely, however, was the whips the jockeys were carrying. All riders in this year’s Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby went to the post with the new 360 Gentle Touch (360 GT) riding crop, engineered by retired Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez. Riders at Laurel Park adopted the crop’s use in April.

Until the DQ of Maximum Security took center stage, the use of the whip (often referred to as a “riding crop” in an attempt at rebranding) was one of the central debates in racing, prompted by The Stronach Group’s suggestions earlier this year it would do away with the whip for any purpose other than safety or correction of a drifting horse. That declaration, which became a rule unanimously approved by the California Horse Racing Board, was met with displeasure by the Jockeys’ Guild, which claims its members need the whip. Horseplayers weighed in to suggest they preferred riders to use them for encouragement. On the opposite side of the aisle, animal rights groups have long demonized use of the whip, adding it in a long list of perceived abuses in the sport.

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Any time a horse expresses resistance or undesirable behavior, it’s worthwhile to investigate why—it’s not always a training issue he’s simply refusing to do; the horse may be in pain. Horses have no ulterior motive; they simply seek relief from discomfort. Identifying the root cause of the discomfort the horse is trying to get away from can be challenging, yet is necessary to resolve the issue.

A horse that swishes his tail, pins his ears or acts angry when girthed is trying to tell the rider something; if not addressed while small expressions, the outbursts may ramp up to bucking, rearing, bolting or otherwise attempting to avoid pain.

Statistically, Mark Guidry is one of only 34 jockeys to ride more than 5,000 races. In addition to those glittery stats, he is so well regarded by his peers that he received the 2006 George Woolf Award that honors jockeys whose character and career reflect positively on themselves and Thoroughbred racing.

When he received the Woolf award, Guidry credited his Louisiana upbringing that emphasized respect. He said that treating others the way one wanted to be treated was “pounded” into youngsters while growing up. In those formative years in a racing-rich culture, Guidry had easy access to horses and, like so many premiere jockeys, he started riding in informal races during his youth.

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Hip 302, a filly by The Big Beast, after selling for $850,000 at the OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

The 2019 edition of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. March 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale saw unprecedented bounty at the very top of the market, but mid-level trade took a step back in the juvenile auction season’s first event.

The two-day auction saw 309 horses sold for revenues of $44,422,500, up 5 percent from last year’s final gross, when 257 horses brought $42,275,000.